Speaker 1: Welcome to micro Terrors, scary stories for kids where it's
Speaker 1: always the spooky season, full of chills, thrills and spine
Speaker 1: tingling spooks. Micro Terrors are family friendly frights for those
Speaker 1: ages eight and up, and while our stories are for
Speaker 1: younger years, we are still talking about things that go
Speaker 1: bump in the night, and some children may not be
Speaker 1: able to handle what others can. Parental consent is recommended
Speaker 1: now for tonights micro Terror.
Speaker 2: Stardust by Fiona Cosgrove. Enzo nibbled the edge of his pencil,
Speaker 2: side eyeing Mika as she copied down the sequence of
Speaker 2: planets from the Sun. Mister Wong was giving the class
Speaker 2: an extended explanation about the former planet Pluto and its
Speaker 2: unfortunate demotion back to dwarf planet status. In his exuberance,
Speaker 2: he had accidentally knocked the pull down projector screen, and
Speaker 2: half of it was now covering the last of the
Speaker 2: planets on the board. Mika craned her head left and
Speaker 2: right Saturn. Enzo whispered, then Urinus, then Neptune. Thanks. Mika
Speaker 2: chewed on a stray piece of her black hair as
Speaker 2: she scribbled down the last of the planets. Mister Wong
Speaker 2: is so obsessed with space. He is the science teacher,
Speaker 2: said Enzo. So teach us about science, puffed Meka. Chemical equations, anatomy,
Speaker 2: molecular biology, even not Mika, not to the front, where
Speaker 2: mister Wong had moved on to the composition of the
Speaker 2: rings around Saturn. Does anyone know what makes up ninety
Speaker 2: percent of those wide spanning rings, asked mister Wong. Roberta,
Speaker 2: a round girl who was mostly nose and eyeballs, raised
Speaker 2: her hand. Mister Wong nodded. Water and ice, said Roberta.
Speaker 2: With trace components of rock, Trace components of rock, Mika repeated,
Speaker 2: rolling her eyes. How do people know this stuff? Enzo
Speaker 2: shuffled in his seat, his bottom lip tucked between his teeth.
Speaker 2: You don't think space is even a little bit interesting,
Speaker 2: Mika shook her head before Enzo had even finished his question.
Speaker 2: It's all the way up there. She waved her hand
Speaker 2: in the general direction of the vast infinite galaxy with
Speaker 2: as much interest as if she was shooing away a fly.
Speaker 2: And who can remember what the planet of Mars would
Speaker 2: feel like? Asked mister Wong. Vera, a blondhaired girl who
Speaker 2: sat next to Roberta, raised her hand. Yes, verra Vera
Speaker 2: gently tucked her blonde hair over her shoulder, then, with
Speaker 2: a wistful look in her eyes, said, dusty quiet enormous
Speaker 2: in its morphology, but gentle in its stride. Mika rested
Speaker 2: her forehead on the table. I hate science, very astute
Speaker 2: via one of the planet's closest to Earth, with perhaps
Speaker 2: the most potential for terraforming. Vira seemed to flinch at
Speaker 2: the suggestion, but before she could say anything, Miss Cisly
Speaker 2: entered the room. Sorry to Mado repped, Miss Cisly said,
Speaker 2: I was just wondering, mister Wong, if you had any
Speaker 2: spare whiteboard markers. Mine seemed to have grown legs and
Speaker 2: wandered off and a cad very well teach musical documentation
Speaker 2: without well documenting it. Of course, of course, mister Wong
Speaker 2: ushered her inside, both of them walking over to his desk.
Speaker 2: The rest of the class took the unexpected intrusion as
Speaker 2: a sign to drop their pens, leaned back in their seats,
Speaker 2: and open their mouths. Pippa, who sat in front of
Speaker 2: Enzo and Mika, was one of the first. Pipa towered
Speaker 2: over most kids in class. Her limbs gangly and sharp.
Speaker 2: She had delicate fingers with unnaturally long extensions, making it
Speaker 2: easy for her to reach out and pluck Mika's paper
Speaker 2: from her desk Pipa. Enzo hissed, reaching for Mika's notes.
Speaker 2: Pippa held the notes higher into the air and easily
Speaker 2: out of Enzo's reach and just looking geez, why so sensitive?
Speaker 2: Pipa leaned back against her desk and surveyed the list
Speaker 2: of planets. Keep it, said Mika, crossing her arms. Not
Speaker 2: a fan of the wonders of the universe, are we?
Speaker 2: Pippa smirked. Who is, said Mika. I think it's pretty cool,
Speaker 2: said Bruno, a smaller kid with messy curls of brown hair.
Speaker 2: I'd bed not batas stardust right. Enzo looked at Mika,
Speaker 2: her brow ever so slightly inching upward. Star dust, she repeated.
Speaker 2: Bruno nodded, I heard it, not a podcast. It's all
Speaker 2: around us, every atom of oxygen we breathed carbon, and
Speaker 2: our muscles and calcium and our bones. It was all
Speaker 2: created inside its star way, before the Earth was even born.
Speaker 2: Mika held her hand in front of her as if
Speaker 2: trying to see the actual stardust. After a few flexes
Speaker 2: and twists of her palm. She shook her head. No way,
Speaker 2: that doesn't make sense. It's true, Enzo jumped in. He
Speaker 2: pointed to the periodic table hanging on the wall, which
Speaker 2: stars explode. They create a bunch of the elements on
Speaker 2: that table, including the ones that make up every life
Speaker 2: form into universe, each and every one of us. Mika's lips, nose,
Speaker 2: and brows scrunched into a ball on her face. What
Speaker 2: no way, yeah, said Pippa, tossing Mika's notes back onto
Speaker 2: the desk. No way, that's true. Sounds like some interstellar
Speaker 2: mumbo jumbo like aliens and UFO's. Pippa's mouth pulled into
Speaker 2: a satisfied grin. Mika snickered, Little green men with antenna,
Speaker 2: it's slimy fingers. Bruno shrunk back. Enzo's chest tightened. Who
Speaker 2: knows what's out there? And Soo said, it's a big,
Speaker 2: wide world, and this planet is only a tiny part
Speaker 2: of it. We don't even know if there's an end
Speaker 2: to this universe. Mika rolled her eyes. Come on, hands,
Speaker 2: you think we're being visited by alien life forms?
Speaker 1: Enzo shrugged.
Speaker 2: Would he be so bad? I bet They're probably nice,
Speaker 2: just looking for a place to rest or or somewhere
Speaker 2: to call home. Mika shook her head, looking up to
Speaker 2: the front, where mister Wong was walking miscisily out of
Speaker 2: the classroom. Well, they get skip earth. This is all
Speaker 2: I'm saying. We're full. We don't need any globby looking
Speaker 2: slime balls crawling around here looking for a home of
Speaker 2: their own. They had a home, so stay in it.
Speaker 2: Pipa snorted, Hey, you telling Mick's Pippa looked at Enzo
Speaker 2: as she turned around. Keep on moving slimeballs. That goes
Speaker 2: for six foot insectoid creatures too, Mika threw in with
Speaker 2: a laugh. I saw that on a reel the other night,
Speaker 2: insectoid alien beings. She chuckled. Some more people are so dumb.
Speaker 2: Pipa paused me swivel in her seat, and for a
Speaker 2: second it looked like she was inching to turn back around,
Speaker 2: but mister Wong was already addressing the class.
Speaker 1: All right, everyone, where were we at?
Speaker 2: He tapped his chin with his finger, something about that action,
Speaker 2: apparently jogging his memory, because a second later he clicked
Speaker 2: his fingers ah Saturn's rings. Enzel watched to make a
Speaker 2: scribble down the rest of mister Wong's notes. Enzel left
Speaker 2: his paper blank. An oily pitt had settled in his stomach,
Speaker 2: and he didn't feel much like taking notes on the
Speaker 2: planetary wonders of the world, not even when mister Wong
Speaker 2: mentioned Neptune. By some accounts, a harshly cold and unforgivable planet,
Speaker 2: said mister Wong. No surfaces, we know it, just storms
Speaker 2: of supersonic winds and methane clouds made of ice crystals.
Speaker 2: But here is always the diamond rain. Enzel felt something
Speaker 2: twist in his gut, diamond rain. In a flash, he
Speaker 2: was back there, shimmering sparkles of diamonds, crystallized in swirls
Speaker 2: of deep blue clouds, spinning like a gemstorm, refracting turquoise
Speaker 2: and purple light into the misty atmosphere. Things were easier
Speaker 2: there until they weren't. A blinding bolt of green sliced
Speaker 2: through the blue, lighting up the outer layers of the planet,
Speaker 2: just like it did when the war first started. The
Speaker 2: familiar squeeze of panic took hold of Enzo all over again.
Speaker 2: It wasn't like he and his family wanted to move
Speaker 2: to Earth, but with the interstellar war raging around them.
Speaker 2: The only planet that was safe was the oblivious one.
Speaker 2: Things were harsher on Earth, harder, rougher, heavier. There was
Speaker 2: no more gliding on diamond soaked breezes, no dipping into
Speaker 2: the liquid lip of Neptune's crust. Instead, Enzo was now
Speaker 2: forced to walk upright, the oppressive force of gravity, a
Speaker 2: constant reminder of how far from home he really was.
Speaker 2: All right, everyone, mister Wong called out over the bell.
Speaker 2: Remember your homework for this weekend is to look up
Speaker 2: at the stars for at least fifteen minutes each night.
Speaker 2: See how many satellites pass you by, how many shooting
Speaker 2: stars your glimpse, and if you're really lucky, how many
Speaker 2: UFOs you might see zip in and out of the horizon.
Speaker 2: The class was filled with the sounds of chair legs
Speaker 2: scraping the lino floor, pencil cases zipping up, and kids
Speaker 2: chatting about weekend plans ends. Mika was clicking her fingers
Speaker 2: in front of Enzo's face, what, Enzo blinked? Were you
Speaker 2: even listening? Mika had her books and pencil case folded
Speaker 2: in her arms, keep saying games tonight at Batti's Pizzeria
Speaker 2: who are still on. Enzo forced a smile. Sure, great,
Speaker 2: I'll get mom to drop us pick up at five.
Speaker 2: Enzo nodded as Mika waved goodbye, weaving her way to
Speaker 2: the front of the class and then disappearing into the hallway.
Speaker 2: Bruno was putting the last of his pens into his
Speaker 2: pencil case when he turned to Enzo. You okay. Enzo
Speaker 2: nodded that we could feel the sting of salt water
Speaker 2: forming in the tear ducts of this human suit. Bruno sighed,
Speaker 2: I get it. That little green men bit didn't feel great.
Speaker 2: Bruno ititched a spot in his hairline, and Enzo saw
Speaker 2: the bulge of flesh where his antenna was curled underneath.
Speaker 2: Does it hit much, Enzo asked. Bruno shook his head.
Speaker 2: Dott itty boor it's a relief when I get home, though.
Speaker 2: As soon as I stripped my suit off, it's like
Speaker 2: I could finally breathe again. Pipa whipped around to face Enzo.
Speaker 2: I don't know why you keep trying so hard. They're
Speaker 2: never gonna accept us. She fidgeted with her left eye.
Speaker 2: Her contact slipped out of place momentarily, and Enzo saw
Speaker 2: the yellow of her eyeball and the black slit of
Speaker 2: her iris. I was worried you were gonna spear her
Speaker 2: in her seat after she mentioned the insectoids, said Bruno.
Speaker 2: Pipa grimaced. I was close. She twisted her neck, the
Speaker 2: tiny hinges in her suit creaking like vertebra popping across
Speaker 2: the room. Vera and robert were giving each other a
Speaker 2: once over. Roberta reached up and adjusted Vera's hair, covering
Speaker 2: the sliver of purple skin that had been peeking out.
Speaker 2: Half the class had already left, swallowed by the wave
Speaker 2: of students hurrying off to their weekend plans, but the
Speaker 2: remaining were slowly gathering their belongings, each of them quietly
Speaker 2: adjusting themselves after a long day confined within their individually
Speaker 2: crafted human exteriors. Mister Wong wandered down the classroom towards
Speaker 2: Enzo and Bruno. Everything all right back here, kids, bit
Speaker 2: of rough wind day, said Bruno, sitting up on his desk,
Speaker 2: hugging his bag on his lap. Enzo is working on
Speaker 2: Mica again. Mister Wong sighed, Ah, I see. He clasped
Speaker 2: his hands together. Enzo could spot the green fluid leaking
Speaker 2: from the worn down pores and mister Wong's suit he
Speaker 2: was in need of an upgrade. They'll come around, ends,
Speaker 2: said mister Wong. We have to remember they're a lot
Speaker 2: further behind in their revolution than the rest of us,
Speaker 2: which is why this planet is such a perfect refuge.
Speaker 2: Perfect Pippos snorted hardly. Mister Wong smiled. Maybe not in
Speaker 2: terms of the actual environment, but in terms of safety.
Speaker 2: With the war raging in the Milky Way, a primitive
Speaker 2: planet like Earth is safe like ants. During the wars
Speaker 2: that humans have waged, Earth continues on, unnoticed and undisturbed.
Speaker 2: I say we get rid of them all, said Pippa,
Speaker 2: hoisting her backpack over her shoulder. Soon enough, there'll be
Speaker 2: more of us than them. A rumble of agreement rolled
Speaker 2: through the class. We won't be doing any such thing,
Speaker 2: said a woman's voice. Misscisely had returned mister Wong's whiteboard
Speaker 2: marker in her hand. But they'll never Pippa began, but
Speaker 2: Miscisely raised a finger to her own lips, silencing Pippa's complaints.
Speaker 2: Missucisely glanced at the open door, then lowered her voice.
Speaker 2: Must I remind you that their ignorance is what protects
Speaker 2: us their inability to see what is right in front
Speaker 2: of them. That's what keeps us safe. Enzo and the
Speaker 2: rest of the kids nodded. She was right. Despite Earth
Speaker 2: being almost more alien than human, it was still humankind
Speaker 2: that kept the alien refugees cloaked from the rest of
Speaker 2: the galaxy. Miss Cisely walked over to Enzo, her voice
Speaker 2: sinking into a more comforting tone. When the time comes
Speaker 2: and it's safe for us to reveal ourselves, they'll be ready.
Speaker 2: Just be patient, Enzo. Enzo exhaled the shaky okay, though
Speaker 2: nothing about his situation felt okay. And as for the
Speaker 2: rest of you, Missus Sizeley eyed Pippa sharply, there will
Speaker 2: be no spearing of the human kind? Is that clear?
Speaker 2: Dimples popped along Pippa's jawline, but eventually she muttered a
Speaker 2: labored fine. The class finished packing up the last of
Speaker 2: their items as Missus Sizeley and mister Wong discussed the
Speaker 2: status of the interstellar war. Enzo grabbed his bag and
Speaker 2: pushed aside the memory of floating diamonds and mists of
Speaker 2: cobalt blue. Instead, he focused on pizza, video games, and
Speaker 2: the desperate hope that one day Mika might find not
Speaker 2: only the wonder in their infinite universe, but also in
Speaker 2: all of the stardust filled creatures lucky enough to call
Speaker 2: it home. Big news, micro Terrors fans. The first ever
Speaker 2: micro Terror's short film, The Dire mor Phantom, inspired by
Speaker 2: the twenty twenty three micro Terror's original story Bump in
Speaker 2: the Night, is now available to stream over in the
Speaker 2: fan club. If you're not a member, while now's the
Speaker 2: perfect time to join. From now through August first, twenty
Speaker 2: twenty six, you can use the promo code sci Fi
Speaker 2: Summer when you sign up and get fifty percent off
Speaker 2: your first month and the Terrified tier. Head on over
Speaker 2: to micro terrors dot com to sign up. Thank you
Speaker 2: all for being such dedicated micro Terrors listeners. We'll see
Speaker 2: you next week for part one of Scout and the
Speaker 2: Astronoggs Assault on Trios. I have no idea what any
Speaker 2: of those words mean, do you no? Okay, well, I
Speaker 2: guess we'll have to find out next week. I'm seriously,
Speaker 2: what is an astronog or a thrios?
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